Return
by SageOfSorrows
Summary: Twice now the land of Hyrule has been saved from the King of Evil. He was there for the first war, but had vanished for the second, keeping his oath. Now the Hyrule is safe and peaceful, but he has returned... First fic EVER to tie OOT and TP together!


Prologue

I could never run away fast enough. It always overcame me, ripping through my soul and tearing me to pieces. I screamed, I always screamed, but there was no one to hear me. I would be gone. I wouldn't be me. I would be but one word.

_Sheik. _

At the end of the night, I barely remembered what had happened. How I wound up at a different place every night was a mystery. I only remembered the sharp pain of the call of the Sheikah, the people of my guardian, Impa. The tight uniform I- we- always wore bore their symbol. He would take me to see _him_, the Hero of Time at every temple he went to. I would hear the sweet tones of my ocarina, longing to be lulled by a familiar tune. But the song was always different, always magical. Then everything would be in a bright light, and I would be back in my hiding place being myself; whole.

But something changed. We had been at the Spirit Temple, Sheik and I. Link was not yet there, and I had the strangest sense of déjà vu.

"_Princess Zelda," Sheik said, his voice acknowledging me for the first time. "This will be the last melody. Everything will change."_

"_Everything has changed, if you haven't noticed." I retorted. _

"_When this is over, you must not take the ocarina back. If you do, our world will shatter. Do you understand?"_

"_Not exactly…" I faltered. "If you could just tell me who you-" _

"_You know my name. That is enough." He cut me off. "Just do not reclaim the ocarina." _

And then, it started to go dark, like it always did. But it did not feel the same.

"_Wait! Wha-" but I was losing control. My body had been stolen, and this was the last straw. I fought the darkness, which was now sweeping through my body with trouble. _

"_Princess, do not fight it. This is not your battle."_

"_Of course it is my battle! This is _my_ kingdom! I have to defend it!"_

"_You are not yet ready."_

"_I am!"_

"_You have no control."_

"_I have plenty of control."_

"_You are willing to take the whole world on your shoulders? This is not just Hyrule, your majesty."_

"_I am well aware. I can take control. Give me my body!"_

"_As you wish. This will be the last time. I pray that the goddesses will be merciful to you."_

And then everything went black, as he promised, for the last time.

And as he said, it was all soon over. The Hero of Time destroyed the King of Evil, and all was restored. Then came the time when the Hero and I had to confront each other. It was somewhat awkward, though he was oblivious. I remember it clearly.

"_Thank you, Link. Thanks to you, Ganondorf has been sealed inside the Evil Realm. Thus, peace again will reign inside this world… for a time. All the tragedy that has befallen Hyrule was my doing. I was so young… I could not comprehend the consequences of trying to control the Sacred Realm. I dragged you into it too. Now it is time for me to-" I stopped. Link waited for me to go on, but something held my tongue. The same strange sense of déjà vu I had experienced at the Spirit Temple I felt yet again. _

_I continued, "You must lay the-" but again I was stopped, but this time not by my inner feelings, but by a vision. There, behind Link, Sheik stood. Not flesh, but not a ghost either. He was alive. His eyes penetrated me, and I remembered his order, to not reclaim the ocarina. Strange, I only realized then what I was going to ask of Link. The words were simply tumbling out of me, almost an intuitional act. _

_Finally, I started again. "I want you to keep the ocarina, Link. But the Master Sword needs to be kept safe, so I will put it in a protected, sacred place." I looked Sheik's way, but he was gone. As long as he didn't posses me again, I was thankful. _

_Link cleared his throat. "Thank you, Princess. The ocarina will be in good hands." I nodded, and he bowed. "I suppose that this is good-bye." He said. _

"_No, this is simply a farewell. I will see you again, Hero of Time." I smiled. He smiled in return, bowed once more, and took his leave. _

We had been in a courtyard at the time. I turned and walked through the doors and through the castle, until I reached the throne room.

_I took a deep breath, and the guards posted opened the two massive doors. I walked in, slowly but majestically, and reached the throne my father had sat in seven years ago. I caressed it gently, as if the strong gold would be crushed by my touch. I turned, and looked at my kingdom through a ruler's eyes. The guards moved to a crisp attention. _

"_Hail Zelda, King of Hyrule!" the commander shouted. _

"_Hail!" the entire room bellowed in return. _

_In one swift movement, I changed forever, from Princess to King. With a smile, and love for my country, I sat in my throne. _

That was two decades ago. As Sheik had promised, the weight of kinghood was not easy.

_I couldn't believe it. He was here. He had penetrated all my forces and came to my courtroom. His monstrous creatures were behind him, killing mercilessly. Finally, his monsters stopped long enough for him to speak._

"_It is time to choose: surrender or die. Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule… Life? Or death?!"_

_My people turned to me for an answer. I gulped. I never believed that it would come to this; yet it had. This was the end._

_My sword dropped to the floor. Hyrule was now doomed to Twilight._

Midna found Link in a cell in my castle and brought him to me. They both went on to save Hyrule while I waited in hiding, much like the last time Hyrule was in danger. But even after a two decades of age, Link still pulled through and saved Hyrule once more. After Ganon was yet again sent to the Evil Realm, Midna left as well, to rule her own people. Link and I miss her and her short temper terribly.

But now this is different. For whatever reason, he has returned. He is here, in Hyrule, watching me. I feel his presence like I could feel Impa's. I will not lose my people to darkness again; no threat shall ever overcome me.

So then, why is he here?


End file.
